46th District Democrats (Washington)/Energy Environment Transportation
=Energy, Environment & Transportation= Proposals from Enviro/Energy/Transport /Growth Mngt Orgs for Platform and Legis Action: Priorities for Healthy Washington 2006 Legislative Session: #Cleanup Puget Sound – funding for cleanup of contamination, studies, coordination. This is a first step bill and funding increase for 2006. ##2006 House Bill 2578 (Evaluating point source outfalls in Puget Sound) ##2005 House Bill 2105 (Including Hood Canal in the on-site sewage grant program) ##2005 Senate Bill 5895 (Regarding the Puget Sound action team and other governmental entities) #Promote Energy Independence through Renewable Fuels (biofuels legislation likely to pass in 2006) ##2005 House Bill 1645 (Regarding student transportation programs) ##2006 House Bill 2442 (Access to alternative fuels) ##2006 Senate Bill 6298 (Tax incentives to promote renewable fuels) #Launch Electronics Waste Recycling: make manufacturers responsible for providing convenient means for recycling of electronics they sell in Washington. #Protect Kids’ Health by Eliminating Toxic Flame Retardants: likely to pass. #Defend our state's land use protections (legislative agenda limited, but expect a right wing push for a “takings” initiative in 2006). #Encourage the development of the Renewable Energy Industry in Washington State ##2006 Senate Bill 6192 (Requiring a feasibility study of the viability of a solar electric generating facility) ##2006 House Bill 2351 (Setting statewide renewable energy goals) ##2006 House Bill 2349 (Requiring state agencies to purchase power from alternative energy sources) ##2005 House Bill 1760 (Providing incentives for solar energy systems) ##2006 Senate Bill 6432 (Funding solar energy demonstration projects) Longer Term or additional Priorities that may relate to Platform (beyond short term resolution or this Session): #Promote energy independence and environmental protection by requiring electrical utilities to produce a minimum of 25% of their electricity from renewable, alternative energy sources by 2020, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. #Promote our shared responsibility to protect natural resources and the quality of life in our communities with growth management and oppose schemes to require payment to property owners who want to impose their own inappropriate development plans on our neighborhoods. Promote and protect the concept that developers must pay for the cost of services to their developments. #Protect Washington and the Columbia River from Hanford being used as a national radioactive and toxic waste dump for waste from nuclear weapons plants: defend and implement the Cleanup Priority Act (Initiative 297) to require cleanup of Hanford, the most contaminated area in the Western Hemisphere. (Legislative action in 2006 required and budget) and will be a scorecard issue for enviro orgs). #Preserve and add measures to prevent oil spills in Puget Sound and the Straits of Juan de Fuca: preserve the Magnuson amendment limiting size of tankers in Puget Sound; require escort tugs and plans for oil spills; enforcement of requirements against discharges. #Promote energy independence with a massive new national investment program for renewable energy sources and hydrogen fuel cell use (dispersed, rather than centralized utility production) and mandate auto efficiency standard increases and emission decreases. Oppose massive subsidy by the Bush-Cheney Republican Congress of nuclear power plants and the increased nuclear proliferation and contamination threats from their plan to separate Plutonium and Uranium for reuse. Oppose efforts by Bush Administration to relax health and groundwater standards in order to bury nuclear waste or to abandon it, whether in Washington State, Nevada or anywhere else. #Prevent the wholesale opening of public lands and coastal zones with critical wildlife habitat, wilderness or other important natural values to oil and gas development or mining. Do not open ANWR, the Washington and Oregon coasts, or wilderness and areas adjacent to national parks to oil development and mining. Oppose cyanide leach mining. #Cleanup the Spokane River and Lake Roosevelt. Local: #Expand light rail to Northgate and increase funding for bus feeder service where the population increases in potential use of service due to density, rather than continue to divide transit dollars in King County based on politics. #Do not expand the 520 Bridge to increase lanes for single occupancy vehicles. #Increase parking fees and taxes in Seattle to encourage transit use and neighborhood preservation. Links *WashPIRG - Washington Public Interest Research Group **http://www.washpirg.org **Defenders of Wildlife **http://www.defenders.org Category:WA46DEMS